me gusta jugar al fútbol
/me ɡusta xuɡaɾ al futbol/from spelling rules
In Spanish, "I like to play soccer" is said as me gusta jugar al fútbol.
This phrase is used to express that you personally enjoy playing the sport of soccer. If you are discussing soccer, you might encounter other related terms such as balón (ball), portería (goal), equipo (team) or partido (match/game).
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "to me it is pleasing to play soccer". This is because the verb gustar functions as "to be pleasing to" rather than the English "to like".
Is it said differently in some regions?
The use of the preposition al (a combination of a and el) before the sport is characteristic of Spanish as spoken in Spain.
How does it change in a sentence?
In this phrase, me is an indirect object pronoun meaning "to me", rather than a direct object meaning "I".
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use yo gusto jugar al fútbol because they try to follow English sentence structure. Instead, you should use me gusta jugar al fútbol to correctly express that the activity is pleasing to you.
Did you know?
- The Spanish word jugar is a distant relative of the English word 'joke'. Both words trace their lineage back to the Latin word iocus, which means a 'jest' or 'joke'.
- The word jugar is a linguistic rebel because it undergoes a rare 'o' to 'u' vowel change, a pattern that is not found in any other Spanish verb.
- In many Latin American countries, you will hear me gusta jugar fútbol without the al. Adding al is a specific regional trait of Spanish spoken in Spain.
Examples in context
- Me gusta jugar al fútbol.I like to play soccer.This example shows how to use me gusta jugar al fútbol.Tatoeba #4637638 by lawka, translation #253860 by CK
Example conversation
Lucía and Daniel are talking about their hobbies.
- LucíaDaniel, ¿qué haces los fines de semana?Daniel, what do you do on weekends?
- DanielMe gusta jugar al fútbol en el parque.I like to play soccer in the park.
- Lucía¡Qué bien! Yo prefiero el tenis.That's great! I prefer tennis.
- DanielPodemos intentar jugar juntos algún día.We can try to play together some day.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries fútbol, jugar, me, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
